The invention relates to a lighting apparatus for an AC voltage supply comprising a rectifier module, wherein the rectifier module converts an AC voltage from the AC voltage supply into a rectified supply voltage, comprising a diode cascade, wherein the diode cascade has a plurality of diode cascade sections, wherein at least one LED is arranged in each of the diode cascade sections, and wherein the diode cascade sections are connected in series in the diode cascade, wherein the diode cascade sections each have a connectable bypass device for bypassing the associated diode cascade section, wherein the bypass device is connected on the basis of the voltage level of the rectified supply voltage, wherein the diode cascade section is in an illuminated state when the bypass device is deactivated and is in a dark state when the bypass device is activated, comprising a current source module for stabilizing the cascade current through the diode cascade to a setpoint value. In addition, the invention relates to an aircraft comprising the lighting apparatus.